Hard Shoulder

A round-up of today's other stories in brief...

A round-up of today's other stories in brief...

Peugeot rules out ‘skinny’ spare

While many car manufacturers are turning away from full-size spare wheels to save on weight and improve their emissions ratings, Peugeot has decided that Irish drivers and our roads just aren’t suited to the “skinny” spare or tyre puncture repair kits.

As a result, the French firm has bucked the trend in other European markets and opted for full-size spare wheels on the new 508 for Ireland.

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“Ireland, whether it’s the drivers or the roads’ is not ready for space saver [spare wheels],” said Mark Hayes, national marketing manager at Peugeot Ireland. A victim of two punctures himself this year where potholes damaged the alloys and made puncture repair kits redundant, he says the firm had introduced space savers and kits on some versions in recent years but found that most owners – and dealers – still opted to add a full-size spare.

Hayes was speaking at the Irish launch of the new 508 (road tested in this paper on April 6th). Despite the added weight and its impact on emissions levels, he says that all new 508s will still fall into the two lowest tax bands. Peugeot expects to sell 1,500 new 508s in a full year, with 60 per cent going to corporate and fleet customers.

Jaguar supercar gets go-ahead

Jaguar has confirmed its C-X75 electric supercar, unveiled as a concept model last autumn, will go into production.

Capable of 0-100km/h in just three seconds, it will carry a price tag of £700,000 in Britain with the Irish price likely to be close to €1 million.

The hybrid model, which combines two electric motors with a petrol engine, will have a top speed of over 320km/h and a range of more than 50km using only electric power, according to the firm, now owned by Indian giant conglomerate Tata.

It will go into production in partnership with Formula One team Williams GP.

The new model will compete with upcoming electric supercars from BMW, Audi and Porsche, which have all confirmed production for their cars in the next two years.

Only 250 C-X75s will initially be built, with production running from 2013 through 2015.

Renault and Citroën recall

FRENCH firms Renault and Citroën are carrying out recalls in Ireland.

Renault last week announced a voluntary recall of Fluence models sold here. The vehicles in question were manufactured up to August 2010.

According to a release by the National Consumer Agency, Mégane models had been affected but Renault Ireland has since told The Irish Times that only Fluence models are involved.

On affected vehicles, there is a risk that the driver’s air bag may not deploy. There is also a risk that the passenger’s air bag may deploy even when deactivated. This recall affects 892 vehicles in Ireland. Customers will be contacted by post.

Meanwhile, Citroën is recalling C4 models due to the potential for damage to occur to electrical wires and various electrical equipment in the boot area of the car.

The affected vehicles were manufactured between March 24th, 2006 and July 19th, 2006 and this recall affects 386 vehicles. All affected customers will be notified by post by Citroën.